


For a worthy cause

by Elisexyz



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arguing, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: s02e14 Love in the Time of Hydra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23755600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elisexyz/pseuds/Elisexyz
Summary: “Kara, please, can we — can we talk?”
Relationships: Kara Lynn Palamas/Grant Ward
Comments: 6
Kudos: 10





	For a worthy cause

**Author's Note:**

> For the Tumblr prompt: ["Would you stop that?!" + Karaward.](https://heytheredeann.tumblr.com/post/616938070960455680/10-would-you-stop-that-karaward-i-miss-my) Every time I write something for them I'm reminded of how much a I love this ship, ugh.  
>  Anyway, AU in which Kara doesn't know who exactly sold her out, and Coulson reached out asking for help instead of barging into their lives. Enjoy!

“Kara?”

She clenches her jaw, ignoring the knocking vibrating against her back.

“Come on, open the door.”

She is not going to. He is being so _unreasonable_ , so — he wants to _leave_ her. There is no possible excuse for that, no good reason that he could give to make her accept that. Much less _help_ him.

“Kara, please, can we — can we talk?”

It kills her a little, the way his voice cracks, the pleading — the way she can imagine him resting his forehead against the door.

He’s good at talking, her Grant. She doesn’t want to hear him. He’s already tried to wrap his abandonment in a nice ribbon, and she won’t _have_ it.

She takes a breath, wiping a few tears away from her cheeks. “No,” she says, firmly, the word still tasting sweet, even after she’s started to get used to saying it.

He stays silent. If she didn’t know him, she might think he’s given up.

“I’m just trying to help you,” he eventually says, small and defeated in a way that thugs at her stomach but also makes her so _angry_ , because — because she doesn’t _want_ this from him. Why doesn’t he just _listen_?

What is so complicated about listening to what she’s saying that she wants, that she _needs_? He has been trying to do that since before she even knew how to listen to herself, _why_ has he decided to stop? What did she _do_ to make him think that he has to leave?

She’s on her feet before she can think any better of it, swinging the door open so fast that Grant almost loses his balance.

His very first reaction is breaking into a small, relieved smile at the sight of her, though it fades fast, she suspects because she’s glaring daggers at him and there are still tears in her eyes, anger and grief equally responsible.

“I don’t want you to do it,” she says, her voice trembling only slightly, her fingers still gripping the door. “It’s stupid, it’s reckless, it’s _unnecessary_.”

“I’ve survived a million missions for SHIELD,” he objects, his tone placating.

“When they didn’t _hate_ you,” she immediately counters. “And even _then_ , they didn’t really care — look at how little they cared for me!”

“That’s my entire _point_.” He steps closer, reaching out for her biceps. She lets him, letting herself be swallowed by the soft look on his face, if only for a moment. “I want to help you get closure.”

“Would you _stop_ that?!” she bursts out. “I already got that — I needed it, alright, I needed it badly and — and I’m glad that we got to Bakshi, but now I’m _fine_.”

“SHIELD —”

“SHIELD is responsible too,” Kara agrees with his point before he can even make it. “They are bastards, and they took so much from me — that is precisely why I cannot let them take you too.”

There’s a moment of clarity on his face, a hint of surprise, a gentle smile. “They won’t take me,” he says, soothing and easy to believe, if not for the blind fear squeezing her chest.

“They could get you _killed_ ,” she stresses, swallowing through the lump in her throat. “If Coulson reached out to you, if he asked for your _help_ — he’s desperate. And it’s not worth it to risk your life just to strike a blow from the inside. I don’t _want_ that.”

Grant stares at her, considering her words, an unhappy frown on his face. His hands are still on her biceps, his thumbs stroking her.

“I really think this could work,” he tries again.

“Maybe,” she concedes, with a shrug and a strained smile. “But I don’t think it’s worth trying.”

His frown deepens. “Of course it’s worth it,” he says, like it’s the most absurd thing he’s ever heard in his life. “You deserve it.”

That successfully pulls a smile out of her, even as she shakes her head in obvious frustration. She steps a little closer, cupping his face into her hands and making sure to look at him in the eye. “I am — so, _so_ grateful for you,” she says, trying to transform the warmth in her chest, that pleasant feeling of belonging that is starting to become familiar and is now hitting her at full force, into proper words. “I really am. And I love you for thinking that, for wanting to _fight_ for me, but — to right this wrong, we would have to bring down the _whole_ of SHIELD.”

He grins. “That could be arranged.”

She snorts, amused and hopeful that he’s starting to _hear_ her. “I don’t want us to try. I want to be happy, with you. The way we were up until yesterday. Please?”

There’s hesitance on his face, a crack in his resolve to do this, and that only pushes her to insist.

“I can’t take back everything I lost because of them, but I can keep _you_ ,” she says, swallowing back a fresh wave of tears and biting her lip as she strokes his cheeks with her thumbs. “Please, let me keep you?”

He opens his mouth slightly, looking a little thunderstruck as he closes it, swallows heavily and finally nods. “Yeah,” he eventually says, voice a little hoarse. “Yeah, alright.”

She breaks into a triumphant smile, blinking a few tears away as she pulls him down for a kiss, which he reciprocates enthusiastically. She doesn’t linger long, instead pulling him into a tight hug, hiding her broad smile in the crook of his neck and letting herself feel the relief washing through her.

“I’m sorry,” he says, quietly, leaning on her and squeezing her a little too tight, the way he usually does when he’s afraid he has done something to push her away. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

She snorts, her fingers playing with the hair on his scalp. “It’s okay, baby,” she says, lightly, high on relief and hopefulness. “You’ll make it up to me.”

For a moment stretching into an eternity, there is nothing more certain in her mind than the bright, shared future ahead of them, and it’s the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates comments, including: 
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


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